I have always found Candy Crowley to be an excellent example of how objectivity in American journalism is dying. During the heated Democratic primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the last Presidential election she proved her bias time and again. It’s always seemed to me that her true intention is not to inform people with issues, but to turn events and issues around to promote the candidate of her own personal choice. When I heard she was going to moderate the Presidential debates last night, I almost didn’t bother watching. She’s the reason why I have not watched CNN in four years, and I have feeling she could be the reason why CNN has failed in ratings so much in the last four years.

I rarely get into politics on this blog, as most people know. And that’s because I hate politics so much I don’t like to get into it. I’m an independent voter who swings to the far left on some issues and to the right on others. The most important issue to me, at this time in my life, is equality for all Americans, mainly legalizing same sex marriage on a federal level. I’d also like to see same sex couples in the military receive all the benefits straight married couples receive. I’m not going to list everything here because that would be another post, and I repeat the most important issue that matters to me is equality for all Americans. And the LGBT community isn’t getting that right now.

So far there have been three important debates in this election, two Presidential and one Vice-Presidential, and no one has mentioned equality for gay Americans or even the topic of legalizing same sex marriage on a federal level. In previous elections we at least heard the topic mentioned. This time everyone’s gone dead silent. For those who don’t know, and I sure most of you don’t know this, here is how the questions for last night’s debate moderated by Candy Crowley were chosen.

The Gallup polling organization picks about 80 uncommitted voters. Those voters will work with moderator Candy Crowley of CNN, and she decides who in the group will get to ask a question. Crowley said she and a small team of helpers will try to get as broad a range of questions as possible and nobody else will know the questions in advance.Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82467.html#ixzz29Z9n4k6F

According to this, Crowley basically chose and organized all the questions. That’s an interesting position for someone as partisan as Crowley to be in. What I find interesting is that out of “80 uncommitted voters” not one had a question about same sex marriage. So there wasn’t one smart gay American in the entire house last night? I find that hard to swallow. What I find even more interesting is that even though Crowley felt compelled to interject and fact check during the debate last night in a way I found highly unprofessional, she didn’t bother to ask the one key question that is so important to millions of gay Americans. Where do you stand on legalizing same sex marriage on a federal level?

Plain and simple.

I know where Mitt Romney stands, so I don’t think that question is all that important with regard to him in this election. But I do think it’s important with regard to President Obama. He’s been candid about his personal feelings on same sex marriage, and that’s great, but I want to know, in simple terms, how he feels about legalizing same sex marriage on a federal level. How he, or Mitt Romney, feel about anything on a personal level is of no concern to me as a gay American. In the past the President did what all politicians do with this topic, he basically said he wanted to leave it up to the states to decide. And that’s just not good enough for me anymore, not as a swing voter who is tired of politicians all over passing off issues that tend to be controversial. I know how Gavin Newsom feels about gay marriage on a federal level just as I know how Mitt Romney feels. But I still don’t know how President Obama feels. And if anyone reading this blog post has a solid link that says he is going to legalize same sex marriage on a federal level, please let me know. But don’t give me your opinions and guesses. I want a solid quote.

Again, out of 80 people asking questions last night, I find it hard to believe that not one brought up the topic of same sex marriage on a federal level and equality for all Americans. I felt as if I were watching debates set back in the l980’s instead of 2012. I know I’m supposed to “believe” that the President supports same sex marriage across the board on a federal level because he feels this way personally.That’s what I’ve been told by all my ultra liberal die-hard Democrat friends, but I reserve the right to not trust in the President’s truncated stand on the issue until I hear the President discuss it openly and candidly in a public forum. The town hall debate last night would have been perfect. As a side note, when these TH debates started in the 90’s, the questions were not chosen by moderators, they were random questions.

I also find it hard to believe that in working with the voters who asked the questions in last night’s debate Candy Crowley didn’t even remotely focus on same sex marriage. And if this is such a hot topic now, which we all know it is, what motivated her to avoid this question? I could make suggestions, but they would only be guesses. I could say she’s just dumb and doesn’t realize how important this issue is to gay Americans, many of whom have contributed huge sums of money to the President’s campaign. But we all know that’s not the case and Crowley isn’t dumb. The only good guess I can come up with is that the question of equality and same sex marriage did not come up last night because no one wants to deal with it during the election.

The only problem is that now I’m supposed to cast a vote in a few weeks, and I’m still not sure how I’m going to do that. I voted for President Obama last time, but I have been disappointed in how the past four years turned out. I want to vote for him again this time, I really do. I actually believe all Presidents need at least eight years to move the country forward. But it’s not going to be easy for me to do that again if he keeps avoiding the issue of equality and same sex marriage. Some might call that a spite vote on my part. And to a certain extent, maybe it is. My only reply to that would be stand in my shoes for just one day, find out what it’s like to be an openly gay American, and see for yourself what it’s like not to have the same basic rights all Americans have.

I’m hoping in the last debate things will be different. I’m not asking for much; just one answer to a very simple question: Do you support same sex marriage on a federal level?

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
ryan-field.blogspot.com